FAMILY STORIES

Mary Hjsman, and a son, Mathew, of whom nothing is known except his birth certificate.

   Mathew died April 14, 1907, and Antonia December 14, 1908. They are both buried in the Plasi Cemetery. By Rita Polak

   My great-grandfather, Frantisek Cerny, was in Raskovice, Czechoslovakia. In 1873, he brought his family to America. The eldest son, Joseph, was my grandfather. He was 12 years of age when they came to Nebraska, to Peter Dolezal in Saunders County, claiming a homestead with expenses for $20. He bought boards for a rough shack, some flour and salt with the only $20 he had left. They carried water a mile and a quarter from a creek, boiling it for drinking. To keep the family from starving, Frantisek walked for miles to farms in the area, repairing clocks, doing carpenter work, and even dentistry, if needed. Times got better. They purchased a stove for $4 on the "installment" plan. They bought a cow for $40. In 1879, Frantisek received the original patent on a homestead from the United States, under President Ulysses S. Grant, recorded in 1886.

   Since there were no churches, Frantisek made a large wooden crucifix, and, with associates, placed it along the road on the Phillip Mraz farm. Pioneer families for miles around met here on Sunday to worship God. Later, Mass was held in homes or schools. Some years later, his son, Joseph, my grandfather, replaced the weathered cross. It served as a landmark and symbol of early pioneer faith. Over the years, road projects removed crosses placed by Albert Codr families. In the Bicentennial year, 1976, Edward and Viola Hovorka, owners of the Mraz farm since 1920, decided to re-establish the tradition by erecting the present redwood cross. Older people would often ask if the cross was still there. They thought it would be nice to have it back, in memory of those early brave pioneers.

   In 1882, son Joseph married Katherine Codr. They lived in Linwood. He did carpenter work and dug wells, even experiencing an artesian well. He built the first merry-go-round in the area for frontier celebrations, which was boy-power propelled. It had about seven seats for two person, each at 5¢ a ride. (The Omaha World-Herald carried that story in 1959.)

   My grandmother, Katherine, told the family how she worked at the age of 14 years, cooking in a hotel in Fremont for fifty cents a week. She would get lonesome at times and would walk home from Fremont, 35 miles, to her home at Linwood. This required wading the Platte River. At this time, there were no telephones. The family would not even be aware of her coming.

   To this union were born eleven children: Mary, Frank, Kristina, Frances, Carrie, Lucy, Stazie, Liddie, Adolph, Albin and Edward. The family moved to Clarks, Nebraska in 1903.

   Stazie and Adolph are the only surviving members. My mother was Mary who married James Navrkal the same year the family moved to Clarks. There were thirteen children in our family: Gustie, Frank, Mary, James, Anton, Kristie, Antoniette, (myself), Blanche, Albin, Marcella, John, Adolph and Rose. James, Anton, Albin, and Marcella are deceased.

   The information about my great-grandfather and grandfather's family was made available to me from our Cerny-Codr Family Tree Book. It was compiled by Mrs. Edward (Helen) Cerny of Rogers and Mrs. Albin (Mary) Cerny of Schuyler.

   Elmer Buchholtz and I were married in 1934. Our daughter, Linda, married Emanuel Kovar in 1959. They have two daughters, Annette and Diana. Our family continues to grow. In 1981, there were 591 living descendants and 33 deceased in the Joseph and Katherine (Codr) Cerny Family. Submitted by Mrs. Antoniette (Navrkal) Buchholtz

Mrs. Katherine Cerny Family. Bottom Row: Frank, Adolph, Mrs. Cerny*, Edward, Albin; Top Row: Mary, Kristina, Carrie, Lucy, Stazie, Liddie.

   Frank A. Chapek married Eleanora Cidlik in Moravia, May 5, 1868, where his first business experience was that of a merchant. He also conducted a farm in connection with the grocery store. In 1876, he disposed of the store and devoted his entire time to farming and raising cattle. They came to this country July 4, 1881. They bought an eighty-acre farm three miles west of Weston for six dollars an acre. They lived in a dugout for seven years before they built a two-room house. On the east slope of the dugout, the floor was earthen. The children were healthy and contented. They slept upstairs. The entrance on the east was on the main floor. The entrance on the west was on the second level, the upstairs, and a ladder was needed to enter there. They raised four sons and 5 daughters. The farm they bought in 1881 is still in the family name.

Frank J. and Mary Chapek

   Their son, Frank J. Chapek, and Mary Svoboda were married Nov. 24, 1903 by Fr. Matthew Bor at the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Wahoo. They had five sons and one daughter: Bernard, Joseph and Ludvik, twins, Frank, Agnes Ludvik, and Adolph.

   Soon after their marriage, Frank and Mary moved to Enid, Oklahoma where be worked for his brother, Anton Chapek, in a grocery store. In the spring of 1904, they moved to Hugoton, Kansas in a covered wagon. They were on the road nine days. Frank managed a large ranch.

   On Febr. 9, 1907, they moved back to Nebraska where Frank J. purchased his father's farm. They lived there until 1945 when they retired to Weston.

   On Mar. 6, 1913, while the older boys were in school, the house burned to the ground with one-and-a-half-year-old Frank in it. Submitted by Ludvik Chapek

   I was born Febr. 26, 1907, to Frank J. and Mary (Svoboda) Chapek three miles west of Weston. I attended school at Dist. 74 and Dist. 28. Those days we walked 2 miles to school as there were no buses and no football or basketball practices after school. When we got home we went for cows and helped with the chores.

Ludvik and Hattie Chapek

   My wife, Hattie, was born June 21, 1909 to Jacob and Mary (Vlcan) Pekarek about 6 miles south of Weston and attended school at Dist. 118.

   I was baptized, received First Communion and was confirmed at St. John's Church in Weston. Hattie was baptized, received first Communion and was confirmed at St. Vitus Church in Touhy.

   We were married April 27, 1937 at St. John's Church in Weston by Father Victor P. Mlejnek. We farmed in the vicinity, 3½ miles west of Weston, 33 years. We got started during the dirty 30's when corn was about 45¢ a bushel. We got 67¢ a bushel for our first wheat. Hogs were 6¢ a pound. We farmed mostly with horses. We bought our first row-crop

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tractor in 1936. It had to be started by hand as self-starters were unknown then.

   We were blessed with two daughters. JoAnn married Delano Strizek. They have two daughters. Joyce is attending Wayne State College the third year. Sandra is a senior at Raymond Central High School. Geraldine married Delano Bohac. They have four children. Douglas is a junior at Neumann High School in Wahoo. Karen, Kurt, and Mark are attending school at St. Wenceslaus School.

   We used to pick our corn by hand one ear at a time and stored the corn in cribs. We bought our first corn picker in 1943 and the first combine in 1938. Before then we cut our small grain with a binder and put the bundles into shocks. Later on, we threshed it.

   In 1949, we got R.E.A. and put running water into the house and got electric lights. Before then we had to carry water from the well to the house. Sometimes the windmill was running when we went for water. By the time we got there the wind went down and the windmill stopped. We would have to unhook the windmill and hook up the pump handle and pump by hand. Before we got electricity we had a battery radio.

   In 1970, we sold out and moved to Wahoo to spend our declining years. We have done some traveling. We have traveled through 35 to 40 states. In Oct., 1982, we visited, for the first time, relatives in Atwood, Kansas.

   Last summer, we attended the 1982 World's Fair at Knoxville, Tenn.

   I have driven Buick cars for more than sixty years without ever owning any other make of car. Submitted by Ludvik Chapek

   Joe Cherovsky, son of Joseph and Rose Cherovsky, was born at Wahoo on Dec. 3, 1914. Later, they, with his younger brother, Charles, moved to a farm near Mead. He attended Mead school and graduated from Mead High in 1933.

   On April 6, 1937, he married Mary Jirovsky, daughter of Frank and Frances Jirovsky of Cedar Bluffs. She was born on Oct. 15, 1914 at Cedar Bluffs. She attended School Dist. 25 and graduated from Cedar Bluffs High in 1932.

   The couple had three sons, Edward, Richard, and Robert, all born at Wahoo. Edward, born Jan. 30, 1940, graduated from Wahoo High in 1957. On Oct. 27, 1962, he married Kathy Coyle of Mead. They had three children, Terri, born Aug. 8, 1963; Tom, Sept. 9, 1964; and Laura, Dec. 3, 1969.

   Richard, born June 13, 1943, graduated from Wahoo Catholic High in 1961. He married Joann Fiedler of Weston on June 20, 1964. They had three children, Alan, born Sept. 26, 1965; Brian, Sept. 16, 1966; and Cheryl, July 29, 1971.

   Robert, born Sept. 16, 1945, graduated from Wahoo Catholic High in 1964. On Febr. 13, 1971, he married Margaret Shanahan of Wahoo. They had two children, Heidi, Jan. 1, 1973, and Kurt, Oct. 19, 1974. Submitted by Mrs. Mary Cherovsky

   Lee and I (Dica) moved to Saunders County on Memorial Day, 1978. I will never forget the beautiful huge Court House we saw as we entered Wahoo from the west the first time we came here. I hope others entering Wahoo for the first time enjoy the structure of the Court House as I did, and still do.

W. Lee Chipperfield Family. Back Row: Dica, Lee; Front Row: Craig, Cheryl, Calvin

   As we came here we were anxious to begin our new business as Sears Authorized Catalog Sales Merchant. We purchased our business from K. and Joyce Davis, who had begun the business in Saunders County. Becoming a businessman was quite a change from being a farmer. We are glad to say, at the beginning of 1983, that the people of Saunders County have been good help to keep our business going.

   We have three children. Calvin Lee was born at Atwood, Kansas in 1975. Cheryl Annette was born at Bassett, Nebraska in 1977. Craig Alan was our only child born in Saunders County, at Wahoo, in 1979.

   The Chipperfield family came to America from England. Lee's grandfather, Harold, is living in Benkelman, Nebraska today. Lee's father and mother, Walter and Fannie, have lived at McDonald, Kansas for a number of years. That is where Lee grew up.

   My father and mother, Everett and Dica Lee Williams, live at Mulvane, Kansas and that is where I grew up. We both have brothers and sisters scattered throughout the United States, even a sister in Brazil. Dica Chipperfield

   The Richard Chisholm family moved to Wahoo, Nebraska in February of 1977. They moved here from York, Nebraska where Richard became employed by the State of Nebraska as a Deputy Probation Officer. After being promoted in 1976 to Chief Probation Officer of the newly formed District 14, an area which covers six counties, he moved the head office to Wahoo.

Richard Chisholm Family

   The family members consist of Richard, his wife Margaret, and their 5 children, Justin, Jason, Jessica, Tyson, and Douglas. They live in Center Precinct and the children attend District 70 school.

   Richard was born and raised in Fremont, Nebraska. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Paul Chisholm who still live in Fremont. Richard graduated from Fremont High School in 1965 and received his Bachelor's Degree in Social Work from Brigham Young University in 1969. He has been a member of the Army National Guard for 13 years and is currently in the Company D, 67th Support Battalion in Lincoln and is a Sergeant 1st Class.

   Margaret Chisholm, the former Margaret Duey, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Duey, moved to Wahoo in June of 1956. She attended West Ward School and graduated from Wahoo High School in 1968. After High School, she attended one year at Kearney State College, then enrolled in Denver Medical and Dental Assistant School in the fall of 1969, and graduated as a dental assistant.

   The family belongs to, and is active in, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) and attend services in Fremont. They enjoy the outdoors and doing many things together as a family. The children enjoy baseball, softball, football, scouts, and 4-H projects. Living on a farm keeps them busy with chores and tending to the small animals they raise. Margaret and Rich enjoy gardening and fishing when time allows.

   They are proud to be part of the community and feel fortunate to live in an area surrounded by friendly, caring, hard working people. (A girl, Amber Elaine was born on April 23, 1983 to the Chisholms.) By Margaret Chisholm

   August Chmelka was born March 12, 1875 in Saunders County, Nebr. in a dugout which was home for the family of Jan Chmelka and Anna Koza Chmelka, his parents. He attended rural school near Plasi, Nebr. In 1888, he and his brothers and sisters survived the "school children's blizzard" by following a fence to their home.

August Chmelka Family. Back Row, L to R: Emily Chmelka Policky, Alois Chmelka, Gertrude Chmelka Makovicka, and Amelia Chmelka Makovicka Dickerson; Front Row, L to R: Victor, Joseph, Anna Moravec Chmelka, Mildred Chmelka, August, Anton.

   August helped the family with the farming until he was old enough to be a laborer for a farmer-stock producer near Fremont. Later, he married Anna Moravec.

   August and his wife, Anna Moravec, started their life together on Oct. 12, 1902 on the old homestead southwest of Plasi, Nebr. Here ten of their twelve children were born: Tillie, Louis, Evelyn, Emily, Gertrude, Amelia, Anton, Lillian, Victor, and Joseph. Lillian died when she was only twelve days old and is buried in the Plasi Cemetery.

   Seven of the children attended a rural school one mile north and a half mile west of their farmstead. As the family grew the need for a larger house and better farmland also grew. So August sold the homestead to Felix Houska and purchased a farm two miles west of Bee in Seward County in 1917.

   The family moved on March 1, 1918 by horses and wagons. Chasing the cattle was difficult and slow work, so that the family stopped just southwest of Brainard, Nebr. at a relative's farm until morning of the following day.

   In 1923, August had an addition erected adjoining his large farm house to enable his elderly parents to reside with him and his family.

   Times were difficult. When crop production was high in 1929, prices fell downward and very little money was earned. In 1932, a severe drought struck and, by 1934, no corn was harvested to keep the livestock alive.

   Despite the many setbacks, August farmed this 160-acre farm, plus several other farms which he rented from 1918 until his death in 1943, always using horses for power.

   Vaclav Chmelka came to America from Europe. He married Antonia Svoboda who had also come from Europe. They settled on a farm south of Czech Presbyterian Church, south and east of Weston. They had four children: Mary, Frank, James, and Joseph. Later they moved to a farm close to Plasi, south and west of Prague.

   John Mach came from Czechoslovakia when he was two years old. He married Anna Pospisil who had come from Czechoslovakia when she was 19 years old. They homesteaded a mile west of Prague, Nebraska. They had ten children: Bessie, Christina, Edward, Emma, Tillie, Libbie, Agnes, Rose, Rudolph, and Adolph.

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